1. I took dance classes designed for people with disabilities from the age of 7 to the age of 16. Dance is one of the things I miss the most from before I got RSD. Dance allowed me to feel free, be in tune with my body and even learn how to do things without becoming disoriented. If the pain were more controlled, I'd go back to it in a heart beat.

2. I used to ride horses too, and this also was fun and improved body awareness and orientation. I was fortunate to have a friend who's mom is an instructor and believed I could do it with help and adaptation.

3. I cannot stand the taste or texture of Jello. The stuff reminds me of hospitals way too much.

4. I had a stuffed animal called Furbil (sp?) which was a friendly little monster with glow-in-the-dark eyes which I took to the hospital for my eye surgeries.

5. I had oral surgery after first grade, more surgery after second grade and braces during third grade. I recovered from anesthesia much better then. I don't remember needing or taking pain killers, either. I did, however, humm the tune of the "Star Spangled Banner" after recovering from the laughing gas from the second surgery.

6. I used to hate Braille, and swear I didn't need it. Thanks toMarlainaI can't imagine my life without it.

7. I did not know what feeling flushed meant until Thursday. Turns out, I'm well acquainted with this feeling. I must blush more than I thought.

8. Despite the myth that all blind people are great at pottery, I am not, and what talent I can BS my way into making people think I have was developed in classes in elementary with a wonderful woman who believed in me, and a very hard class in tenth grade with a teacher who did not, at first.